Hong Kong Stocks Plunge After Moody's Downgrades US Credit Rating, China Data Mixed
Credit rating agency Moody's drops the US government's top credit rating from Aaa to Aa1
Stock markets in Hong Kong and mainland China plunged on Monday amid concerns about the stability of global financial markets, after the US lost its best sovereign credit rating and China reported mixed post-tariff economic data.
The Hang Seng Index fell 0.6 percent to 23,201.61 as of 10:19 a.m. local time. The CSI 300 Index, which tracks the 300 largest stocks in Shanghai and Shenzhen, fell 0.5 percent.
Sunny Optical Technology Group tumbled 4.3 percent to HK$62.95 and Alibaba Group Holding dropped 3.5 percent to HK$119.10, extending losses triggered by last week's weaker-than-expected earnings. Kuaishou Technology fell 3.1 percent to HK$49.30 and Geely Automobile Holdings dropped 2.8 percent to HK$19.18.
Moody’s Ratings cut the U.S. government’s top credit rating from Aaa to Aa1 on Friday, citing successive governments’ failure to stem a rising tide of debt.
China’s retail sales rose 5.1 percent year-on-year in April, official data showed on Monday. That compared with a consensus estimate of 5.8 percent growth in a Bloomberg poll of economists.
Industrial production grew 6.1 percent last month, beating estimates for a 5.7 percent increase, while fixed-asset investment rose 4 percent in the first four months, below projections for 4.2 percent growth. The April data provided a glimpse of the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tit-for-tat tariffs on China’s economy, when tariffs were raised to 145 percent on imports from the Asian nation. The two countries reached an interim deal earlier this month, suspending tariffs for 90 days.
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Source: Bloomberg
